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By Kay del Rosario
The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled businesses in Singapore. Companies have had to implement cost-cutting measures like shorter workweeks, no-pay leave and even retrenchments.
Amidst a backdrop that disrupts industries and results in job losses, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is prioritising efforts to secure the livelihoods and enhance the long-term employability of workers.
As Singapore moves towards re-opening its economy, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng outlined NTUC’s overarching strategy to support workers. This was shared at a virtual media session on 27 May 2020.
According to Mr Ng, NTUC will focus efforts in the key areas of Job Preservation, Job Matching, Job Advocacy, Job Creation and Training.
He said: “By doing all this, we will ramp up NTUC’s capabilities to help workers in need at these difficult times.”
To illustrate, take for example the fictitious Mrs Anne Tan, a 45-year-old data analysis team head in a travel agency that is a unionised company.
Job Preservation
Today, job security is of utmost concern to workers. The Jobs Support Scheme was rolled out to provide companies with wage support and has helped enterprises to retain their local workers.
As the economy re-opens, NTUC together with its affiliated unions and associations will continue to work closely with employers to manage costs and help workers keep their jobs, with the long-term view of improving competitiveness.
At the same time, NTUC will pro-actively partner companies in their job redesign efforts to cater to changes at the workplace and in work.
This is to ensure that jobs can be made more productive and attractive for workers, and in the process, help companies keep and retain good workers that support the business.
For example, NTUC had lobbied for the Government to extend and enhance the Jobs Support Scheme, and to closely align the scheme to employment and training outcomes.
They will also push on with job redesign efforts to help existing workers reskill and prepare them for enhanced roles in the new normal and improve productivity.
Job Matching
NTUC Job Security Council (JSC) was first announced in February this year, with the intention of creating an ecosystem to pre-emptively match at-risk and displaced workers into new jobs.
With the outbreak battering several sectors, NTUC will act quickly to place affected workers in new jobs to keep them financially stable and protect their livelihoods.
This will be done by continuing to harness the strength of NTUC’s network to channel affected workers through NTUC Job Security Council and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute).
Moving ahead, NTUC has proposed for the Government to help channel hiring companies through JSC.
NTUC also stands ready to partner the Government through the newly announced National Jobs Council, leveraging existing capabilities and network to marshal efforts towards matching workers to new jobs and equipping them with deeper skills at the national level.
Job Advocacy
Given the changes in the employment landscape, certain worker segments have become more vulnerable, for example mid-career PMEs, mature workers and women workers.
As a representative Labour Movement for all workers, NTUC will continue to tailor efforts to provide targeted support and assistance to these groups of workers.
It plans to do this by working with the tripartite partners to provide companies with support, to offer enhanced flexible work arrangements.
Job Creation and Training
Moving forward, NTUC stands ready to partner the tripartite partners to identify growth sectors, areas of job redesign as well as new jobs, in support of the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs).
They want to ensure that workers can have access to these new quality jobs that are available – with the twin-aim of preserving and strengthening the Singaporean Core, while upping the productivity of businesses.
Ultimately, this will help workers to secure better jobs and better wages.
To do this, NTUC and unions will work together with companies, to accelerate the upskilling of the workforce and to make training relevant and useful to workers.
Mr Ng stated: “We want to also cast our vision a bit further, create new jobs, better jobs with redesign, so that our workers, even if displaced now can go into immediate training for Industry 4.0.”
While the fallout from the outbreak will continue to be felt by businesses and workers, companies must stay the course to cut costs and save jobs, and to make full use of the lull time to build up their capabilities and competency.
NTUC will continue to be a strong and valued partner in this journey.
